Breastfeeding in the Australian Media

Breastfeeding is a topic that frequently evokes extreme and passionate arguments – both for and against. The way a mother decides to nourish her baby can be one of the most antagonistic and emotive decisions she will ever make. A woman’s decision to breastfeed is influenced by a number of factors: demographic, psychological, cultural and social, and it is often difficult to isolate which factors are most influential (Hector, King, & Webb, 2005). One factor to be explored is the way the media represents and reports on breastfeeding issues, and the role the media can play in this decision-making process. This paper employs meta-analysis of existing literature and a limited content analysis of recent media coverage of high profile breastfeeding issues in Australia, to explore this issue.